Rehabilitation sensory puzzle set, especially for children with psychomotor disorders

ABSTRACT

The set consists of smaller elements which complement one another in shape like jigsaw puzzle pieces in such a way that, being interconnected by circular dovetail type connectors situated on the edges, they fill up a larger area of a circular geometric figure. It consists of a central element ( 1,1   a ) and many concentric ring-shaped sectors ( 2   a,    2   b,    2   h ) which, selected according to the radii (r 1 , r 2 ) and the central angle (co) are interconnected by dovetails ( 3 ) on radially oriented edges, forming at least two ring-shaped fields including the central element ( 1,1   a ).

The object of the utility model is a rehabilitation set of a sensory puzzle, particularly for children with psychomotor disorders of the development and performance of the central nervous system. The set is intended for occupational therapy, mainly of pre-school children who have difficulties in the area of the sensory integration of gross and fine motor skills, manifesting themselves in the disorders of the ability to communicate feelings and to build interpersonal relationships and in difficulties to integrate sensual impressions.

There are known various kinds of methods and therapeutic equipment adapted to them, designed for the sensory rehabilitation of children with disorders affecting the way in which signals coming from the environment are processed, occurring independently or accompanying autism, the Down syndrome or ADHD disorders. The sets primarily employ task-oriented toy-type equipment, a solution which is to aid the recovery of the performance of senses in the daily life of the human being. This action often relies on the use of simple constructional sets of adequately low level of complexity and combinative possibilities, provoking children to perceive their physical identity, to learn how to differentiate among shapes and sizes, to exercise visual and motoric coordination, with the effect of the resources of inborn features being revealed in the created situation.

There are known many puzzle types of toys which create a situation of a simple task which is solvable at the rehabilitated child's level, arousing interest and encouraging the child to continue through subsequently achieved small successes. For example, there are known toys presented in the Polish descriptions of utility models No W-99224 “Rehabilitation toy in the form of a Christmas tree” and No W-99228 “Rehabilitating toy intended to improve co-ordination of vision and movements” in which the task given requires the child to select such elements by shape and dimensions from the set which, when put together, form the required spatial shape. The elements are selected as jigsaw puzzle pieces, that is, they are selected by shape and/or image of smaller elements and by combining and interconnecting them by their circular dovetails to a target format of a wider area. The dovetails have blanks and tabs in the shape of circular sectors with the central angle wider than 180°.

The sensory puzzle rehabilitation set according to the present utility model consists of a central circular element and many concentric ring-shaped sectors. The ring-shaped sectors associated by the radii and the central angle are interconnected by the dovetails on the radially oriented edges forming at least two ring-shaped fields comprising the central element.

The preferable embodiment of the set according to the model is the one in which the ring-shaped field adjoining the central element is formed of at least three ring-shaped sectors.

In another embodiment of the model, the central element is connected on the perimeter by the dovetails with two ring-shaped sectors.

The set according to the model may, after being assembled, have a form of a matt of one layer of elements with a uniform thickness, smaller than 0.02 of the diameter of the outer surface area of the circle formed of the set elements.

The set can also be made of elements which, when assembled, form a cylinder body combined of one or several layers of elements with various thicknesses, the layers being laid one on another, ranging from 0.05 to 0.5 of the external diameter of the cylinder of the assembled set.

The central element of the set may have a height equal to the cylinder height, or, in the multi-layer embodiment, its height is formed by the sum of the thicknesses of the elements of the particular layers.

In another embodiment of the set according to the model, on the circular edge of the central element and the adjoining ring-shaped sectors there are made dovetail blanks into which a two-tab wedge is inserted.

The set forming the cylinder body may contain elements of the particular layers in different colours.

All elements of the set according to the model are made of elastomeric composite material which is safe for health.

The set according to the model gives a rehabilitated child with psychomotor disorders a simple task to select and interconnect ring-shaped sectors in such a way that they form a circular matt or a cylinder body. At the same time, it allows the person conducting the therapeutic rehabilitation to select a form of the set with a simpler or more complex task as appropriate for the degree of the child's integration ability development delay.

The rehabilitation set according to the utility model is presented on the drawing in two essential embodiments as a “small” set with simpler combinative tasks and a “large” set with the task level being slightly more difficult. At the same time, the sets assembled of the so shaped—in the top view—elements may, depending on the thickness, fount a flat matt or a cylinder body. The particular figures of the drawing present: FIG. 1 a top view of the “small” set, FIG. 2 a top view of the “large” set, FIG. 3 to FIG. 10—the components of the “small” set cylinder body, and FIG. 11 to FIG. 19—the cylinder body components according to the “large” set.

The “small” set, shown on the top view on FIG. 1, consists of the following adjacent elements: the central element 1 with a radius r1, one ring-shaped sector 2 a with the central angle ω=180° and two ring-shaped sectors 2 b with the central angle ω=90° jointly forming the internal ring-shaped field and one ring-shaped sector 2 c with the central angle ω=180° and two ring-shaped sectors 2 d with the central angle ω=90°—forming the external ring-shaped field with the inner radius r2. The ring-shaped sectors constituting both fields are interconnected by circular dovetails 3 which are formed on the radial edges and tabs 3 b of which are introduced into blanks 3 a of the adjoining sector. The elements of the small “set” made with the thickness g1 smaller than 0.02 of the inner diameter D1 of the surface area of the circle assembled of the elements of that set form a flat matt. With the diameter D1=100 cm, thickness g1<2 cm. The elements of the “small” set in the cylinder body embodiment are shown on FIG. 3 to FIG. 10. The cylinder can be formed by elements of one layer consisting of elements with a thickness of g1=h=from 0.05 to 0.5 of the inner diameter D1 of the cylinder of the assembled set—which results in the range from 5 to 50 cm with D1=100 cm. The cylinder body can also be formed of many layers with thicknesses g2, g3, g4 and g5 overlaying one another and having the total height h.

The “large” set consists of elements, the shape of which is presented in the top view on FIG. 2. It consists of one central element 1 a with the diameter 2 r 1, six ring-shaped sectors 2 e,2 e,2 e,2 e,2 f,2 g with central angles ω=45° forming the internal ring-shaped field and two ring-shaped sectors 2 h with central angles ω=180°—forming the external ring-shaped field. Identically as in the “small” set, the ring-shaped sectors are interconnected with the dovetails 3 and, furthermore, the central element 1 a has two dovetail blanks 3 a trimmed on the perimeter according to the diameter. One blank is interlocked with the tab 3 b protruding from the inner surface of the ring-shaped sector 2 f and the two-tab wedge 4 is inserted in the other one, two-tab wedge being also captured in the blank 3 a made on the side surface of the ring-shaped sector 2 g.

Depending on the thickness of the elements and the number of layers, the “large” set—similarly to the “small” set—may have a form of a round matt or a cylinder. 

1. Rehabilitation sensory puzzle set, for children with psychomotor disorders, consisting of smaller elements which complement one another like jigsaw puzzle pieces in such a way that, being interconnected by circular dovetail type connectors situated on the edges, they fill up an area of a specified geometric figure, wherein rehabilitation sensory puzzle set consists of a circular central element (1,1 a) and many concentric ring-shaped sectors (2 a, 2 b, . . . 2 h) which, selected according to the radii (r1, r2) and the central angle (w) are interconnected by dovetails (3) on radially oriented edges, characterised in that the ring-shaped sectors (2 a, 2 b, . . . 2 h) are forming two ring-shaped fields including the circular central element (1,1 a) and the ring-shaped field adjoining the circular central element (1, 1 a) is formed of at least three ring-shaped sectors (2 a, 2 b, 2 b).
 2. Rehabilitation set according to claim 1, characterised in that the circular central element (1 a) is connected on the perimeter by the dovetails (3) with two ring-shaped sectors (2 f, 2 g).
 3. Rehabilitation set according to claim 1, characterised in that it is formed of a matt made of one layer of elements (2 a 2 b, 2 h) with a uniform thickness (g1), smaller than 0.02 of the inner diameter (D1, D2) of the surface area of the circle assembled from the components (1,1 a,2 a,2 b 2 h) of the set.
 4. Rehabilitation set according to claim 1, characterised in that it is formed of a cylinder body formed of one or several layers of elements with different thicknesses (g2, g3, g4, g5) ranging from 0.05 to 0.5 of the outer diameter (D1,D2) of the cylinder assembled from the components (1,1 a,2 a,2 b 2 h) of the set.
 5. Rehabilitation set according to claim 4, characterised in that the circular central element (1,1 a) has the height (h) equal to the cylinder height.
 6. Rehabilitation set according to claim 4, characterised in that the height (h) of the circular central element (1) is the sum of thicknesses (g2,g3,g4,g5) of the elements (1,1 a,2 a,2 b, . . . 2 h) of particular layers.
 7. Rehabilitation set according to claim 2, characterised in that on the circular edge of the circular central element (1) and the adjoining ring-shaped sector (2 g) there are made blanks (3 a) of dovetails (3) into which a two-tab wedge (4) is inserted.
 8. Rehabilitation set according to claim 4, characterised in that the elements (1,1 a,2 a,2 b, . . . 2 h) of the particular layers of the cylinder bodies have different colours.
 9. Rehabilitation set according to claim 1, characterised in that all elements (1,1 a,2 a,2 b, . . . 2 h) of the set are made of elastomeric composite material which is safe for health. 